# What is an endpoint?

An endpoint is a device at the end of a network connection that people or programs use directly: laptops, desktop PCs, servers, phones and tablets, and sometimes printers or terminals. Endpoint security is protection installed on those devices, from antivirus to EDR (endpoint detection and response). The term matters because many security products cover endpoints only. Devices that cannot run such software, such as cameras, building controllers or industrial machines, are not covered by them, and neither is an endpoint whose protection has been switched off. Network detection watches all of them through their traffic.

FAQ: [What is…? Network and security terms](https://netsenx.com/en/faq/glossary) · https://netsenx.com/en/faq/what-is-an-endpoint

## Read next

- https://netsenx.com/en/what-is-ndr
- https://netsenx.com/en/problems-we-solve

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